The Hunt for Santa (Evy Story 19)
by quietandsneaky
Summary: Attempting to cheer her up, John promises Evy that she can go visit Santa when he comes to the local grocery store. When he breaks the promise, Evy is heartbroken, and Sam is unsure how to help her, so Dean takes over. Sequel to my story Don't Underestimate the Little People (Evy Story 12). I know it's too early for Christmas stories, but I didn't want to wait to post this :)


**Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me. The original character of Evelyn Winchester does.**

 **A/N: Hi guys! I know it's early for a Christmas story, but I was looking at some Christmas stuff at my old job a couple days ago, and I got the idea for this story. This is a sequel to Don't Underestimate the Little People. Enjoy!**

John picked up the last bag of groceries, checking for the last time to see if he had everything with him. He had tried to get Evy to come with him, and get her out of Bobby's house. But, as she had done the last three weeks, she stuck like glue to Sam and stayed wherever he was. Three weeks earlier Evy had been taken by a demon and emotionally tortured by it for hours. Ever since, the already sensitive, emotional four-year-old had been suffering from nightmares almost every night. They were gradually going away, but everyone was still concerned about her. She refused to talk about the nightmares, except to Sammy, who she made promise not to tell anyone else.

As John started to walk back to the Impala, he spotted a postcard on the bulletin board next to the front door. It announced a "Take Your Photo with Santa!" gathering at the store two days away. There was a small box attached to the wall with the same postcard in them. John grabbed one and stuck it in his pocket. He was excited to do something to make Evy smile again. The two mile journey back to Bobby's house seemed to take forever. John arrived and took in the two bags of groceries. Since nothing was cold or frozen, he went looking for Evy, his hand on the postcard in his pocket.

"Sam!" John eventually called when he couldn't find her. Fourteen-year-old Sam came down the stairs quickly. "Where's your sister?"

"She's taking a nap." Sam said.

"Really?"

John was surprised. Evy hated going to sleep, but would go down with a minimum of resistance for Sam. Because of that, Sam had always been in charge of putting her down for naps and at bedtime. But with her nightmares, Sam had given up forcing her to take naps in the last week and a half. The first ten days Evy had been home, when Sam put her down for a nap, she would wake up within forty-five minutes screaming and crying, and would end up tiring herself out again and feeling worse. She'd go to bed early and have another nightmare from feeling so miserable when she went back to sleep. It was a vicious cycle, and Sam had finally begged his father not to make him do it anymore. John had been surprised that Sam had even asked, but agreed.

"Yeah." Sam said. "She was so tired she asked me to tuck her in and stay with her."

"Okay." John said, a little disappointed. He'd wanted to see the look on her face when he told her about going to see Santa. "Sam, what do you think about this?"

Sam took the postcard John offered him. "What do I think about it?" he asked, confused.

"Taking your sister." John asked. "It might cheer her up."

"I think it would be a great idea." Sam said.

"Why do I sense a but?" John asked.

"Are we really gonna go?" Sam asked. "No matter what, we'll take her to see Santa?"

"Assuming no hunts come up, yes." John answered.  
Sam's face dropped in frustration. "Dad, that's exactly what I'm talking about. If you tell her that we're planning to go see Santa, she'll take it as a promise. And if a hunt comes up, and we do have to leave, she's just going to be heartbroken."

Sam could see his dad getting disappointed. He appreciated John trying, but he was more worried about Evy's breaking heart than he was about John's feelings. Too many times John had broken promises like this to Sam, and he didn't want Evy to distrust John the way that he did. Sam thought of a compromise.

"Look, Dad, it's a good idea, it really is. But how about this? We surprise her with it that night. An hour or so before it's time to go. That way, if we can't go, it doesn't hurt her. Please, Dad? I just don't want to get her hopes up."

John wanted to snap at Sam that he would never hurt Evy, but he didn't. He saw Sam's point. John couldn't guarantee that they wouldn't leave Bobby's. And the last thing Evy needed was something else to feel upset about. But John was too excited about this. There was no reason to believe that anyone would call in the next few days, and Evy needed something to look forward to.

"We'll stay, Sam." John said. "If a hunt comes up, I'll take Dean and Bobby, but you can stay here and take her."

Sam was still wary of telling Evy, but he took John's decision without another word. He helped John with putting the groceries away, while a pit was growing in his stomach the entire time. He hoped John was sincere in promising he'd be able to take Evy no matter what, but experience told him that any time John promised something in definite terms like he had just then, it tended to end in disaster.

But Sam hoped everything would work out. He actually hoped that John would be the one to take her. Sam had kept his promise to Evy and not told anyone about her nightmares. But one of the biggest fears going through Evy's brain at the moment was that everything the demon had told her-mainly that she was a burden to her father and brothers and that she slowed them down-was true. No matter how much Sam tried to reassure her that John, and even Dean and Bobby, loved her and never thought of her as a burden, he knew the fear would always be there, lingering. It broke his heart because, even though he'd never admit it, those fears lingered for Sam too.

But he had noticed one good thing throughout all of the last weeks. As afraid as she was that she was a burden on the rest of the family, Evy had never once doubted that Sam loved her and wanted her around. It was him she wanted when she woke up crying. It was him she was sure would keep her safe wherever they were. He was her safe haven, and Sam took that job very seriously. Sam eyed the clock and realized that Evy should be awake soon. Sam smiled. Evy had slept nearly two hours and not woken up. Maybe things were starting to turn around. He heard Evy calling for him from Bobby's stairs.

"Sammy?"

"Hey, Cricket." Sam said, walking over to her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." Evy said, and made her way towards him.

Behind her she dragged Squish, who hadn't had a break from keeping Evy calm in the last month. As he picked Evy up and hugged her, Sam couldn't help but think that if Squish had been alive, Evy would've suffocated him. Sam held her close, squeezing her a little, and kissed her cheek. He sat down on the couch with her. Evy kept one arm around Squish's neck and one arm around Sam's.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Sam asked.

"No." Evy said, yawning. "Had a good dream, though."

"You did?" Sam asked. "What was it about?"

Before Evy had a chance to speak, John came back inside. He had gone out with Bobby to the garage. Sam had no doubt he was asking for Bobby's advice about the whole Santa situation. Sam could tell John hadn't been happy with what he had to say, and he hoped that Bobby had backed him up. Sam knew, however, even if Bobby had backed him up, that was no guarantee John would listen to either of them. When the door opened, Evy sat up and offered her father a small smile.

"Hi, little one." John said, moving to sit next to Sam and Evy.

"Hi, daddy." Evy said.

"How'd you sleep?" John asked.

"Okay." Evy said. "I had a good dream."

"You did? What happened?" John asked.

As Evy described her dream, Sam half listened and half watched the two of them. He was amazed at how much gentler John had become with Evy. He no longer lost his patience with her at the drop of a hat. Crying no longer scared John away, although he would still wait for Sam to help her before he would pick her up and comfort her. Sam hoped he was beginning to realize that he had to be easier on her than he'd been with him and Dean, especially given what had happened to her recently. As Evy finished her story, Sam saw him reaching in his pocket for the postcard, and his heart sank.

"I have a surprise for you, little one."

"You do?" Evy asked, keeping her eyes on what he had just pulled out of his pocket. "What is it?"

"Take a look." John said gently.

Evy did, and looked back to John in confusion. "Santa?"

"Yep." John said. "You're going to see him."  
Evy suddenly jumped in Sam's lap and her eyes got huge. "See him? I get to go see Santa?"  
John chuckled. "Yep."

"Are you sure, Daddy? The North Pole's a long ways away."

As much as Sam was dreading this, he laughed out loud at Evy's childish innocence. "You're not going to the North Pole, Cricket."

"We're not?" Evy asked. "How do you see Santa then?"

"He'll be at the grocery store in a couple days." John managed to get out through his own laughs.

"Oh." Evy said. She looked back at the postcard in her hands, and the signs of her first genuine smile in weeks started to creep up. "Wow." she whispered to herself.

"What do you think, little one?" John asked. "You wanna go?"

Instead of answering him, Evy climbed off Sam's lap and over to John's. She wrapped her arms around John's neck and buried her face in his shoulder. Squish lay in Sam's lap, who watched them with mixed emotion. It had felt great to see Evy so happy over something. He just hoped it would actually come true. But he just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad would happen. Over the next day and a half, Evy seemed to be a new kid. She excitedly told Dean and Bobby about going to see Santa. She made Santa a Christmas card, even asking Sam to help her write a note to him inside it. The day to go see Santa came around, and Sam was beginning to dare to hope that it might actually happen. As she ate her lunch, Evy got another idea.

"Sammy? Can we make cookies to take to Santa tonight?"

"Don't you wanna leave him cookies on Christmas Eve?" Sam said.

"But we might be in the motel. We can't make him cookies there. They won't be as good." Evy reasoned.

Sam smiled. "Sure, Cricket. Finish your lunch then go wash up and we'll make Santa some cookies."

Evy finished her sandwich and handed her plate to Sam, then ran to the bathroom to wash her hands. _This is actually going to happen_ , Sam thought. Sam took a brief look over at the calendar on the wall and was shocked to discover it was December 21st. He hadn't been in school in almost a month; not since the hunt they had taken where Evy had been kidnapped. Normally going that long without going to school would have left Sam climbing the walls in boredom. But he hadn't even thought about school. Evy had taken all of his attention the last few weeks, and she was finally getting better. Hopefully when he did eventually go back, she would be completely back to normal. As Sam shook his head and turned to the sink to wash Evy's plate, his father's voice got his attention from the doorway.

"Sam."

Sam turned and saw John standing there. He was so wrapped up in thinking about what they needed to make the cookies that he didn't notice how somber and apologetic John looked. He turned off the water at the kitchen sink and wiped his hands, then went to join John. It was at that moment that Evy came back down.

"Ready, Sammy!" she said.

"Okay, Cricket. Go to the table and I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay, Sammy."  
Evy ran back in the kitchen, and Sam heard her pull a chair out. He turned back to John, who was shifting his feet, a sign that he was nervous. Sam realized this was bad news. He just hoped it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be.

"Dad, what is it?" he asked.

"Sam, I'm sorry." John started off. "I just got a call from Caleb…."  
"Dad, don't do this." Sam interrupting, his heart starting to ache. "Please, Dad, do not do this."

"I don't have any choice, son. Bobby's gone and the demons he's hunting know where he lives…" John said, before he was cut off by Sam again.

"But you did have a choice." he said. "You had a choice when I begged you not to get her hopes up about this. I begged you not to tell her. Now her heart's gonna get broken, _again_ , and I'm the one who has to listen to her cry."

John couldn't even look at Sam. He didn't know how it worked, but when Sam was berating him over anything having to do with Evy, it never rose to the level of insubordination, so he couldn't really yell at Sam back. If he was angry over something that didn't have to do with Evy, his temper tended to blow, and they would end up in a fight. When it came to his sister, though, he was calm and collected and could stick a knife in John's heart just by whispering.

"You're right, Sam." John said. "You're right. I screwed up. Big time. And I promise I'll make it up to her. But we have to go."

As much as he wanted to, Sam decided it wasn't worth the fight. "When do we leave? I need a few minutes with her."

"Three hours." John said.

Sam nodded, and before he could say anything else, Evy came back in the living room with them. When he asked her where she was going, her answer made Sam even angrier with John.

"I'm going to get my card for Santa and leave it on the table so I don't forget it."

"Cricket, wait." Sam said. He'd just gotten an idea. "Come here."  
Evy walked back over to him, huge smile on her face. It killed Sam to think that the smile was about to turn into tears. But he had thought of a way that he didn't have to be the one to do it.

"Daddy has something to tell you."

John glared at Sam, even though he knew he'd earned this. Sam had asked him not to get her hopes up, trying to avoid having to do exactly what he was about to do. Sam backed up a few feet until he was standing against the arm of the couch, and folded his arms, waiting to see how John handled it. Evy walked up to John, and John could read the apprehension in her face. She wasn't used to her father asking for her unless she was in trouble. John knelt down and, as gently as he could, broke the bad news to her.

"Little one, I'm sorry, we're not going to see Santa tonight." he said. "We have to leave."

The light, that precious light of hope and happiness that John had seen go in Evy's eyes when he'd told her about going to see Santa was immediately extinguished. His heart ached, and he could see her fighting back tears, trying to be brave. What she asked next shattered John's heart to pieces.  
"Was I bad?" Evy asked. "Is that why we can't go?"

"No, honey. No." John said, wiping away the single tear falling from her eye. "Daddy has to go on a hunt and we have to leave before we can go. It's nothing you did wrong. Okay?"

"But what about my card? Santa won't get it." Evy protested.

"We'll leave it for him Christmas Eve. That's only three days away." John said. "Little one, I'm so sorry. If there was a way for us to stay, I would."

Evy's heart was aching, but she had to be brave for Daddy. "Okay, daddy." she whispered.

"Okay." John said. He was nowhere near convinced that she was actually okay, but they had to get moving. "Good girl." John said, kissing her forehead.

John left, and Sam, despite his earlier decision to force John to be the one to deal with Evy's disappointment, couldn't stand to see the hurt and heartbreak in Evy's eyes. She looked down to the floor, and Sam saw a lone tear hit the carpet. He knelt down in front of her and took her hand. He heard Dean come in and John explain to him about the hunt they were about to leave on. Dean tried to convince his dad that Sam and Evy would be safe at Bobby's, but it was no use. Evy finally looked at Sam, her eyes swimming with unshed tears.

"Are you really okay?" Sam asked softly. When she didn't say anything, Sam wiped at her eyes gently, and forced the tears out. "Or do you just want daddy to think you're okay?" She still said nothing. "It's okay to be sad." he reminded her.

Her voice breaking, Evy admitted sadly, "I wanted to go see Santa."

"I know, baby." Sam said, wiping away more tears. "Do you need a hug?"

Evy nodded and buried herself in Sam's arms. She started crying in earnest, her little tears dampening the back of Sam's neck. Sam hadn't heard her cry that hard since he'd picked her up back at the prison. When Dean found them a few minutes later, he offered to pack Sam's stuff for him. Sam gratefully accepted, as Evy was not about to let him go willingly. She eventually fell asleep from crying so much. Sam placed her in the back of the Impala, holding her hand as she slept on the way to the motel. When she woke up, much to Sam's dismay, she was back to the depressed state she'd been in for the last few weeks. Arriving at the motel, Sam was even angrier when John announced that he was driving ahead. It was a night hunt, and he expected to be back either the next morning or the one after that.

"Great, Dad. Leave me to clean up your mess again." Sam snapped.

"Sam, enough…" John started.

"Please stop fighting." Evy, who had been in the bathroom changing into her pajamas, was standing next to the bed with Squish in her arms, crying again. "I'm sorry I was crying about not going to see Santa, just please stop fighting. It scares me when you two fight."

"Oh, Cricket." Sam said. He scooped her up into his lap on the bed. "We're sorry. We won't fight anymore."  
"Yeah, little one." John said. "We won't fight anymore."

John stayed a little longer, before saying goodbye to a somewhat calm Evy. Dean had convinced John to let him stay behind, but less than five minutes after John walked out the door, Dean was leaving too.

"I forgot something at Bobby's." he said.

"Forgot what?" Sam pressed. "Dean, please, I need your help with Evy."

"I'll be back." Dean insisted. "Promise."

"What did you forget?" Sam asked again.

"My wallet." Dean answered a little too quickly.

"Then how did you pay for the room?" Sam pointed out.

Frustrated, Dean ran a hand through his hair and pulled Sam to the side. "Look, I have a surprise for baby girl. I'm going to get it. I swear I'll be back in less than an hour."

"Dean, look, it's a good thought, but she's exhausted." Sam said. "I was about to read her a story and tuck her in."  
"Don't do it, Sam." Dean said. "Please just trust me. She'll love it."

Sam sighed and looked back over at the bed. Evy was propped against the headrest, with a book settled on her legs, looking at the pictures. She still had a frown on her face. Sam missed the happy, perpetually smiling little girl she had been the last two days. So he decided to take a chance.

"Okay, Dean. I'll try to keep her up."

"Thanks." Dean said, smiling. "Look, I'm gonna call right before I get back. Make sure you pick up the phone."

"Okay." Sam said, knowing that to argue with Dean just meant the entire process would take longer.

Dean walked over to the bed and told Evy he was leaving, and promised to be back before her bedtime. Evy kissed him on the cheek, then settled back for Sam to read her a story. He made it through _The Cat in the Hat_ and _Horton Hears a Who_ before Evy stopped him reading a third story.

"Sammy? Did Daddy tell me the truth?" she asked.

"About what?" Sam asked.

"About me being a good girl." Evy said. "Is that why we couldn't go see Santa tonight?"

 _Damn you, Dad._ Sam bit his tongue to keep from saying that out loud. It wasn't fair. He was fourteen years old. He should be at Christmas parties with his friends, not trying to convince his heartbroken four-year-old sister that she was a good kid who deserved a visit from Santa. As badly as he wanted a normal life, he would give it up to raise Evy if it meant he never had to have this conversation again.

"Listen to me." Sam said. "Do you trust me?"

"What's trust mean?" Evy asked.

"Do you believe I won't lie to you?" Sam asked.

Evy nodded.

"You are _not_ a bad kid. You are a wonderful kid. You are the best thing to ever happen to me, daddy, and Deanie. You deserved to go see Santa tonight, and I'm so sorry you didn't get to go. I know that hurts, baby. I wish I could make it stop hurting, but I can't. But please believe me, okay? You are a good kid."

Evy nodded, and Sam ruffled her hair. He was about to try tickling her to make her laugh, before the phone started ringing. Sam listened carefully. It rang once, stopped, then rang again. Dean or dad. Sam picked it up on the second ring.

"Hey. You close?"

"Yeah. Listen, dude, give Evy the phone." Dean said.  
"What? Why? Just come on inside." Sam said. "You got the room key, didn't you?"

"Just put Evy on the phone, dude. And don't tell her it's me."  
Sam rolled his eyes and passed her the phone. "It's for you, Cricket."

Evy took the phone from Sam. "Hello?"

"HO! HO! HO! Is this Evelyn Winchester?"

Evy's eyes became wide as saucers. "Santa?" she asked.

"That's right, ho ho ho! Do I have the right address?"

"Sammy!" Evy squealed, and outside, Dean pulled the phone away from his ear in a grimace. "Sammy, it's Santa!"

"What?" Sam laughed.

"It's Santa!" she said. Sam reached for the phone, but Evy refused to give it to him. "No way! He called me, not you!"

Sam laughed. "Well, you better talk to him then."

"Santa? You still there?" Evy asked.

"I sure am. You gonna let me in?"

"YOU'RE HERE?!" Evy practically shouted.

"That's right. Tell Sammy to open the door and I'll be right there. Ho ho ho." Dean added for good measure.

"Sammy!" Evy said, nearly smacking Sam in the face with the motel phone. "Sammy, he's outside! Let him in!"

"What?" Sam asked. "Stay here, Cricket." he said, taking the phone from her and hanging it back up.

"Sammy, go let him in!" Evy insisted impatiently.

Sam walked up to the door and opened it. The sight that met him made him say "oh my God" under his breath. Dean was sporting a Santa hat and full white beard, along with a red jacket. He had stuffed his waist with something so that it was almost four times its normal size. Sam prayed Evy wouldn't figure out it was Dean. Dean stepped inside and Evy's excitement hit the roof.  
"Santa!" she squealed, jumping off the bed and running to him.

Dean scooped her up and held her, laughing in a much deeper voice than normal. He carried her back towards the bed, where Evy was still clinging to his neck. Dean pulled her around and sat her in his lap.

"And how are you today, Evelyn?" Dean asked.

"Santa, you came to see me!" Evy said, still in disbelief.

"I certainly did." Dean said.

"Wait, Santa." Evy asked. "Where's your suit?"

"Well, we can't have everyone knowing I'm here, can we?" Dean said with a wink. "Your dad told me you were sad because you couldn't come see me tonight."

"Daddy talked to you?" Evy asked.  
"He did." Dean said. "You see, he didn't want me to tell you what he was really doing tonight because he didn't want you to worry."  
"What was he doing?" Evy asked.

"Well, you see, while I was getting ready to go visit the kids at the grocery store tonight, some naughty kids came and stole me away." Dean explained. "So your dad came and rescued me so I could go see the kids tomorrow night."

Evy gasped. "Daddy saved you?"

"He did." Dean said. "He rescued me from those naughty kids."  
"Wow." Evy said. "Wait. If daddy saved you, where is he?"

"Well, you see, your dad was so tired from coming to get me that he had to pull over and get some sleep." Dean explained. "But he promised to call you tomorrow. He asked me to come ahead and talk to you so you wouldn't be sad anymore."

"Wow." Evy said again.

"Hey, Santa?" Sam said from the motel room door. Dean looked up and Sam explained, "She was worried she couldn't go see you tonight because she'd been a bad girl this year." Sam silently prayed that Dean would get the hint, and he did.

"What?" Dean said. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. In fact, I have a secret to share with you. Would you like to hear it?"

"Yes, please." Evy asked.

"I only come to visit the very best kids in the whole wide world." Dean said. "The ones who have been better than all the other kids everywhere. The ones who believe in me the most."  
"So I'm one of the really good kids?" Evy asked.

"One of the best." Dean said.

"Thanks, Santa." Evy said, wrapping her arms around Dean's waist.

"Ho ho ho, my pleasure." Dean said. He had to stop himself from calling her baby girl. "Now, what's on your Christmas list?"

'Santa' stayed to visit for another few minutes, until Evy started to yawn. Dean announced it was time for him to leave, as he 'has business to get back to at the North Pole'. Evy remembered her card, and gave it to him. Dean fawned over it as though it were the most valuable painting in the world, making Evy blush. He kissed Evy's cheek and reminded her that he'd be back in a few days, and to be a good girl.

"I will, Santa. I promise." Evy vowed.

"Ho ho ho. Sleep tight, Evelyn. Good night and Merry Christmas!" Dean started to head out the door.

"Santa, wait!" Evy said. Dean turned back to her and Evy reminded him, quite seriously, "Sammy's been good this year too. You gotta kiss him goodbye."

Two dirty looks and an awkward kiss on the cheek later, Dean had left and Evy's smile stayed pasted on her face. Sam tucked her into bed, and Dean walked back in, the improvised Santa suit forgotten in the alley behind the motel. Evy excitedly recounted her visit from Santa to Dean, who found it hard to act as if he were completely surprised. When Evy was sleeping a few minutes later, Sam did something that was rare between the two brothers now. He grabbed Dean and embraced him tight.  
"Thank you." he said. "Thank you. You did good."  
"You're welcome, bud." Dean said. "Now let me go, bitch."

"Jerk." Sam said, smiling.

The next day, as it was approaching Evy's bedtime again, John walked into the motel room. An excited Evy jumped up from the blocks she was playing with on the floor and ran to John, wrapping her arms around his waist. John was, to say the least, surprised.

"Thank you, daddy!" Evy said.

"For what, little one?" John asked.

"Saving Santa!" Evy said. "You're my hero!"

A puzzled John looked to Sam and Dean for an explanation. Sam answered, "Just go with it, Dad. We'll explain later."

John shrugged and picked up Evy, who happily told him the story of her visit with Santa. It didn't take John long to piece together what happened, and he thanked Dean sincerely for his efforts later that night after Evy was asleep. The three of them headed back to Bobby's house to spend the holidays. Evy again told her story to Bobby. Christmas morning came, and it was the best Christmas the family of five had had in years. It wasn't very big, but they had each other. Most importantly, they had a happy Evy back. As Sam tucked her into bed that night, he felt none of the anger, the guilt, the sadness, or the frustration that had plagued him before. He only felt happiness. Once she was in a deep, peaceful sleep, Sam kissed her forehead and whispered,

"Merry Christmas, Cricket. I love you."


End file.
